By C. Ron Allen
Over the last month, my mailbox has been bombarded with invitations to events honoring mothers, news releases sharing possible feel good Mother’s Day stories and even a few emails offering deals and giveaways at local eating establishments.
But there is one event I will highlight, not because it is near and dear to me but because of its significance.
On Saturday, five women will be recognized for their years of giving unselfishly to young people in their communities. The five will be crowned as KOPMN’s Ladies of Distinction at a picnic at Lake Ida Park, Eastern Pavilion in Delray Beach.
For the next 12 months, they will wear this honor proudly as they represent the cream of the finest in motherhood in Palm Beach County. And not all these women gave birth to a child.
There is one, Rachel VanNess, a Delray Beach police officer, who has devoted much of her career to helping kids in the city. The Boca Raton resident has given her money, time and love unconditionally to improve the lives of these youth. When she is not on patrol downtown, Officer Rachel, as the kids call her, can be found meeting with representatives from community groups to plan an event or devise a performance improvement plan to help a child excel in school. She has worked with local business people to provide homework assistance or tutoring for youth at Village Academy. A kid at heart, she is a lover of horses. It is not unusual to find her taking a group of children to one of the ranches in the western corridors of the city. She exposes them to a life outside the city limits. She has taken them kayaking and canoeing at Jonathan Dickenson State Park in Jupiter. All this is above and beyond her regular assigned duties as a police officer. In the truest sense, she is an example of community policing.
The other honorees are:
– Athalone H. Brailford, a retired educator who was one of the founders of Operation Save the Children. The program, which morphed into the Knights of Pythagoras Mentoring Network nine years ago, was one of the earlier tutoring programs in south Palm Beach County. Brailford and a handful of other black teachers tutored children in math and reading at Pompey Park on Saturday mornings for more than 30 years.
-Vera Rolle Farrington founded the Spady Cultural Museum in Delray Beach after more than 30 years as an educator in the school system. She continues to educate youth about the history of African Americans in Delray Beach and Palm Beach County.
– Cathy DeMatto parlayed her professional expertise in marketing and development to assist disadvantaged children in the greater community. Her commitment to help youth causes is evidenced by the number of organizations with which she has been affiliated. Among them are the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County, the Caridad Center, the Milagro Center, Delray Beach Police Advisory board, the Spirit of Giving Network, Kids in Distress, Zonta International, and the City of Delray Beach Education board. She has chaired the city’s “Principal for a Day” program for five years.
-The name Janet Meeks is synonymous with youth, education and children– at least in Delray Beach. She was one of the founders of the Plumosa School of the Arts Foundation, she served on the Chamber’s Education foundation and was an adult mentor for the city’s Youth Council. She was a board member of the Boys and Girls Club, a mentor for Take Stock in Children and she has championed many educational programs such as the Mayors’ literacy initiative, Principal for a Day, and the Delray Beach Pop Up Book. Meeks continues to promote the importance of education in the community.
Organizers are billing Saturday’s picnic as a family event. There will be the usual picnic food. In fact, the renowned Smoker 61 BBQ will be providing the food. There won’t be much games or entertainment. Instead organizers are hoping to use the two-hours to show all mothers how much they are appreciated.
Students from the mentoring program will offer tributes to their moms.
Bobby Canatta, chairman of KOPMN, formerly Knights of Pythagoras Mentoring Network, said many of the children served by the organization come from single family households.
And many times for single mothers, Mother’s Day comes and goes because a father is not around to help celebrate and the children are usually too young.
The result is that single mothers often feel lonely or left out, which can make difficult situations even more so. Saturday’s event, he said, is meant to try to ease the burden, if only for a little while.
“It’s a gift to these mothers as well,” he said. “It’s a day for them to come out and enjoy the afternoon for a few hours. And hear from their kids how much they love and appreciate them.”
